Effective Courtroom Testimony, Introduction

Testifying in court is stressful, as it should be. In my opinion, there are three primary reasons that testifying is stressful: (1) testifying is a form of public speaking; (2) for a police officer, testifying is in many ways the opposite of what he/she does every day - take control. In court, the officer cedes control to the attorneys and the judge, and primarily just answers the questions; and (3) testifying is serious business. A person's freedom may be at stake, and justice for the victim may depend upon the testimony.

 

I've heard many famous entertainers explain that they still get "butterflys" before taking the stage, even though they may have sang the same song thousands of times.  "Butterflys" in the stomach is a symptom of stress - good stress. If you don't feel some stress before taking the witness stand, perhaps you're not taking your responsibility as seriously as you should.

 

In future entries, I will discuss many different aspects of testifying in court, including the various types of questions that will be asked. I will also provide some "tips" in order to help you be a better communicator, actually teacher, in court.